Separating apparatus



March 23, 1954 M. J. SLOVIC SEPARATING APPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed001;. 30, 194'.

-lNVENTOR V MATTHEW J. SLOVIC. B Mvw ATTORNEY March 23, 1954- M. J.SLOVIC SEPARATING APPARATUS 5 Sh'eetS Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 30, 1947INVENTOR MATTHEW J. SLOVIO ATTORNEY March 23, 1954 M. J. s ov cSEPARATING APPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Oct. 30, 1947 INVENTORMATTHEW J. SLOVIC ATTORNEY March 23, 1954 s ov c SEPARATING APPARATUS 5Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Oct. 50, .1947

INVENTOR MATTHEW J. SLOVIC. W

ATTORNEY March 23, 1954 M'. J. SLOVlC 2,672,871

SEPARATING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 30, 1947 5 Silets-Sheet 5 .INVENTORMATTHEW J. SLOVIC.

*" T'w4M ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 23, 1954 SEPARATING ABBA RATHS;

Applicaticnfllctcher '3 0, 19.47.; fierial Nos. 'itfizglllt;

13 Claims. 1

invention relates to separating apparatus andsmoreparticuilarly toimprovements. in apparatus for separating suspended material such astobacco from a gassuchras lair.

invention may be..-.used for separating. variious types of material andvis particularly well adapted :fior separating (tobacco. from a stream ofair which is used ,for. carrying the tobacco .i-rom :one'station toanother. station. .Heretcfore vari- -;ouszl.eiforts have beencnade tomaintain .a .unidorm quantity of. tobacco the hopper of a cigarettemaking machine with the idea that :by maintaining-a fairly constantamount of to- -bacco=-incontaet-with the feed roller, tobacco would Fbe:more uniformly fed from the hopper onto the: continuous papertape whichfolded and formed into a cigarette trod. Devices developed along these:lines up to thepresent time have had various disadvantages which have.lim- .ited their 'use.

It is therefore an object of my invention to prowide anrautomaticfeeding apparatus or a cigarette -.machine which will be capable ofbeing ii-sedsin :iactories lwhere lthe clearance between the cigarettemaking -machine and the. ceiling is comparatively :small.

:Another object .of myinvention is to provide a separatingapparatuswhich .is -capable of .disscharging tobacco .-.into=the hopperof a cigarette making machine continuously fl-Om .a; :stream ofpneumatically --conveyed tobacco.

-A ifurther lobjectwof my invention is to provide 'a tobacco-Ldischarge' apparatus which will distribute the tobacco delivered tothe. hopper of a cigarette .making machine uniformly across. the:widthlof the -entire-hopper.

Another .object of -.myinvention .is to provide apparatus forpick-ingupitobacco whichis spilled at :difierent parts =.of the machine andreturning it. automatically to the :teed hopper of the :cigazrettemaking machine.

Another-- cbjectzis-taprovide ardexzice which can be *used for--hlending.;diiferent types of tobacco in the hopper .of-a cigarettelmaking ,machine.

A still iurtherlobject oflmyinvention is to providezazmethodand anautomatic tobacco tfeed for a cigaretteimaking machine which will.enable .tobaccoidustandsand .to rice removed from the shredded tobaccoas it is delivered :to 'the feed hopper -of an -aut0matic cigarette-making machine.

Anothenobj ect also is to ipro-izide la centriiugal tubetypeset-separator which ,WiILdischargematerial along anelcngatediopening.

Ai'iurtherohjectfis .to',proii-idea centr iiugal tube type of separatorwhich maybe used for dis- 12 charging, material in a sheet. which sheet,can have a uniform or. non-uniform quantity al nsits entire. Width.

A her ject. is to provide an improved method forwremovi-ng materialiromzanairstream which it is carried.

Other objects and features of the invention will appear as thedescription of the particular physicalembodiment selected to illustratethein- Mention progresses. the accompanying. drawin s, which form apart-of thisspecification,. like characters .of reference. have beenapplied .to .corlresponding parts throu hout the/several viewswhichmakeoup thetdrawings.

In theaccompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is an isometric view, showing certain parts in section, .of mytobacco. distributing appa- .ratus;

issa sectional end elevation of my. .139." bacco distributing apparatus.associated .vvilJn the feed hopper of .atcigarette making machine;

Fig. 3. is asectionalside. elevation of the. .distributing:andldischarge apparatus;

Fig. i is a sectional end elevation of'the dis.- tributing: apparatus as.seen from line of Fig;

Fig. v5 is av schematic illustration ofa modifica .tion of my diargeaLparatus associated with a cigarette making machine and tobacco feed ing.device; r

Figured is :an isometric view ohmytcbacco distributing apparatus showinga inqdificati n 9f the tobaccospreading plate; and

Figure '7 is an isometric. ,view of; my. tobacco distributin apparatusshowing another. modification of the tobaccospreading plate.

My invention isadantable iorsseparatinsany kind of suspended materialthat, may be separatednnder centrifusalfomeirom, agasequs. carrier. Forpurposes of illustration .1. have shown how m =-separatixig anddistributing apparatus .may --be connected. .to feed anddistribute-tobacco inthahanner ofaci arettemaking machinesuch as showninPatentziflfiiifl l grantedto Learycn Qctober 10,. i939...

The invention consists of an elongated tubular housing is secured to.the sidewalls ,oi the 1110p- .per .by a .pair of suitable brackets 434and has an elongateddischarge opening 12 iormedlength Wise along its.imderside as shown iii-Fig. 1.. The opening 12 extends across theentire width pjthe hopper .Hofa ci arette.makinamachine. .Aiunnel shapedintake duct .It 'CIIig,. -1). is... connected ata tangent to the tubularhousing. I! Q delivering an air stream carrying shreddedrtobacco intothe housing 10.

An inner tube Zii, projects inside of the housing It and is adiustablysupported in a tubular collar 22. By loosening a winged bolt 24, thetubular member 26 may be moved in or out to secure the propersegregation of tobacco or other material to be separated. The tubularcollar 22 has a flange 26 which is secured to the outer housing 1!) byriveting or other suitable means. By sucking air out through the innertube as as shown in Figs. 1 and 3 tobacco laden air will be drawn inthrough the intake funnel or duct M. Tobacco may be delivered to the airstream traveling into the duct I l by suitable tobacco supplyingapparatus such as that which I have hereinafter described in connectionwith a modified form of my invention shown in Fig. 5.

Since the funnel M is connected at a tangent to the housing 10, thetobacco laden air stream is given a spinning or twirling effect insideof the annular passage formed between the outer tube H! and the innertube 2!}. The circulatory move ment of the air stream in travelingaround the inside of tubular housing it causes the shredded tobacco tomove toward the inside wall of the tubular housing is and be separatedfrom the air stream by centrifugal force. The tobacco that is separatedforms a ribbon or belt and travels in the direction indicated by thearrows in Fig. 1.

Air, from which the shredded tobacco has been removed, spirals aroundthe annular passage formed between the outer tube Ill and the inner tube20 until it reaches the end of the inner tube 20 through which it isdrawn out. The momentum imparted to the shredded tobacco in this annularpassage is sufficient to cause the tobacco to keep spiraling in a beltalong the length of the inside wall of the outer tube ll] as shown inFigs. 1 and 2. The amount of air drawn through the tobacco dischargeapparatus may be regulated either by the speed of a suitable exhaust fansuch I as 33 shown in Fig. or by means of a suitable valve such as 3|shown in Fig. 5 which is mounted in the duct connecting the fan with theinner tube 20.

In the apparatus 1 have described, the inner duct 20 has a diameter a ofapproximately 1 inches while the outer housing 1 ti has a diameter 11 ofapproximately 8 inches. The inner tube 20 is adjusted with respect tothe outer housing Ill by means of adjusting bolt 2 so that it pro- 5;;7

jects from the end of the outer housing in inwardly for a distance 0 ofapproximately 15% inches. The intake duct M has a width d ofapproximately 3 inches and the distance c measures approximately 2inches. through the discharge apparatus at the rate of between 300 and4.00 cubic feet per minute. It should be understood that the abovedimensions are for shredded tobacco and some variations from thesedimensions will be made for other types of material to take into accountthe condition and type of material being employed. These variations, totake care of different kinds of material, are best determined by makingadjustments of the inner tube 2c and regulating the amount of airpassing through the inner tube when the apparatus is in operation.

Associated with the elongated opening l2 formed at the bottom of outerhousing H3 is an elongated plate 28 which has a slight twist as shown inFig. 1.

The plate 28 prevents the belt or ribbon of tobacco to which I havereferred from being all discharged at the end of the slot 12 closest tothe exhaust tube and instead allows only part of the Air is pulled iii.

belt or ribbon to be discharged through the slot 12 each time it spiralsso as to obtain an equal distribution along the length of the slot l2.The closeness of the edges of the spiraling ribbon will depend upon thewidth of the ribbon and the suction pulling the ribbon into the housingit. By having the width of the ribbon and the suction properly set, theedges of the spiraling ribbon will be substantially adjacent each otherso that an equal distribution will be obtained when the tobacco isdischarged along the length of the slot 12.

The contour of the projecting edge 23 of plate 26 is shaped as shown inFig. 1 so that it will be partially transverse to the path of travel ofthe tobacco ribbon. This allows only part of the tobacco ribbon to bedischarged while guiding and directing the balance of the ribbon torotate further around the inside of the tube 10. The plate 28 does notextend all the way to the far end of tube Ill and that part of theribbon which reaches the far end of tube It) is all discharged throughthe slot 12 as shown in Fig. 1.

While the contour of the plate 28 which I have shown provides for anequal distribution of the material discharged along the entire length ofthe solt 12, it should be understood that baflle plates of a differentcontour could be employed instead of plate 28 so as to cause an unequaldistribution of material to be discharged along the length of the slot!2. For certain types of material a bafiie plate I30, which is uniformalong its entire length and which has a twist as shown in Fig. 6 may beemployed. For other types of material a tapered plate 532 having notwist positioned along the slot 12 as shown in Figure 7 may be employedto obtain the type of distribution desired. The exact type of plate tobe used will. depend upon the result desired and the type of materialbeing handled by my separating apparatus.

Mounted along and underneath the elongated discharge opening I 2 is arevolving valve gate consisting of a cylindrical member 38 and revolvingblades 32 having rubber or fabric 3 mounted on the outer edges of theblades 32 which rub against and engage with the insides of cylindricalmember 30 as shown by the arrows in Fig. 1. An effective airlock istherefore maintained at all times by the blades 32 and the cylindricalhousing Sll so that tobacco may be continuously discharged as shown inFig. 2 from the cylindrical housing H] and at the same time any materialamount of air is prevented from leaking into the pneumatic system atthis discharge outlet.

The four blades 32 are mounted on a shaft 36 which is supported insuitable bearings (not shown) attached to each side of the hopper H.

A pulley as is mounted on one end of the shaft 36 and is driven from asuitable source of power by a belt 40 as shown in Fig. 2. Thecylindrical housings I53 and as are connected to and supported by theside walls I! of the hopper H at either end. Tobacco is discharged fromthe revolving gate 32 into the hopper H of a cigarette making machine,such as shown in U. S. Patent 2,175,404 mentioned above, and a suitablefeed belt 82 traveling over the pulleys 84 and 85 in the direc tionindicated by the arrows shown in Fig. 2, forwards the tobacco soreceived towards the carded feed drum 88.

The feed drum 88 rotating in the direction indicated by the arrow,removes tobacco from the hopper H. The refuser drum 90 rotating in thedirection indicated by the arrow shown in mechanism which operates thefan 29 and also closes the switch I26 thereby causing the motor 52 to bedriven by electrical current flowing through wires I20, switch I26, wireI22, mercury switch I04, wire I24 and wire I28. This causes the conveyorbelt 44 to deliver shredded tobacco T to the rotating rollers 48 and 50.The carded rollers 48 and 50 may be driven in directions opposite tothat shown in Fig. if desired by merely crossing belt 64. The shreddedtobacco received from the belt 44 is broken up by the carded rollers 48and 50 and dropped into the funnel 5i. Suction generated by the fan 29causes the tobacco to travel through duct 42 and intake funnel It intothe cylindrical housing Ill. The air pulled through the cylindricalhousing l0 has such velocity that it causes the shredded tobacco,delivered at a tangent to the cylindrical housing, to be given a spiralcirculatory motion as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Centrifugal forces actinon the whirling air stream separates the tobacco therefrom by causing itto move towards and along the inside of cylindrical housing Ill. Thetobacco so separated forms into a continuous ribbon and has suificientmomentum to cause it to make several revolutions along the inside of thehousing It in a direction away from the intake funnel I4.

As the tobacco ribbon travels around the inside of the circular tube II!in the manner described some of it passes out through the elongated slotI2 formed along the bottom of the tube I0 each time the ribbon revolvespast this slot. The twisted elongated plate 28, which is positionedalong the elongated opening l2 formed at the bottom of the tubularmember I I], prevents all of the tobacco from being discharged throughthe area of the slotted opening immediately adjacent to the intakefunnel I4 and instead produces a wide sheet of tobacco being dischargedalong the entire length of opening I2.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the twisted plate 28 which has more of a twistimmediately adjacent to the intake funnel I4 than at the end of thehousing I0 which is spaced from the intake funnel I4 allows some of thetobacco to be discharged at that portion of the opening I2 which adjoinsthe intake funnel I4. However, it causes most of the tobacco to revolveone or more times along the inside of the housing I0 before it escapesthrough the opening I2. tour and shape of baffle plate 28, the amount oftobacco distributed along the opening I2 can be varied.

The air stream which has had the tobacco removed therefrom bycentrifugal force, also cone and sand from the air stream and the cleanair passes through duct I8 and valve 30 to the exhaust fan 29 whichejects the clean air into the surrounding atmosphere as shown in Fig. 5.It is particularly desirable to remove dust and sand from the shreddedtobacco just prior to its delivery in the hopper of a cigarette makingmachine because a certain amount of dust and sand which was not loosenedfrom the shredded tobacco prior to this time has now become loosenedthus enabling it to be removed from the shredded By changing thecontobacco before it is made into cigarettes. The consumer thus receivesa finished product which is substantially free of sand and dust.

The gate valve 32 by revolving, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, removestobacco discharged from the cylinder I0 but prevents air from enteringthe cylinder from the outside atmosphere. It is understood that if thehopper H were to be sealed against the outside atmosphere it would notbe necessary to employ the gate valve 32 in conjunction with my tobaccodischarge apparatus. It will thus be seen that I have provided a simpletype of feeding apparatus for delivering a uniform quantity of tobaccofrom a pneumatic conveyor system continuously to the hopper of anautomatic cigarette making machine.

It will also be noted that by distributing tobacco in a wide sheetacross the entire width of the cigarette making machine, the tobacco isevenly distributed in the hopper of the cigarette making machine thusfacilitating the production of uniform cigarettes since a uniformquantity of tobacco will come in contact with the feed roller 88 whichremoves tobacco from the hopper of a cigarette making machine.

After some shredded cigarette tobacco has ben deposited in the hopper Hin the manner just described the operator pushes the lever Hi) to theposition shown in Fig. 3 to start the cigarette making machine. Thiscloses the circuit which operates the motor 52. The motor 52 andconveyor belt M are adjusted to overfeed slightly so that when apredetermined quantity of tobacco has been discharged in the hopper H,the feeler arms 98 will be elevated by the slowly revolving tobacco massto the position shown in dotted outline in Fig. 2. This causes mercuryswitch N34 to open thereby breaking the circuit just described causingthe motor 52 which operates the conveyor belt 44 to stop. As the tobaccoin the hopper H is used up the feeler arms will be gradually loweredagain until the mercury switch is again closed. This will restart themotor 52 and cause the conveyor belt 44 to feed more tobacco.

When my separating and distributing apparatus is to be used for blendingtobacco in the hopper of a cigarette making machine, a second funnel I6is connected at a tangent to one end of the cylindrical tubing Iii.lobacco from a second source of supply is then delivered into the duct I08 in a manner similar to the way tobacco is delivered by duct 42 intothe tubing ID. The percentage of each type of tobacco used in the blendis controlled by regulating the amount of tobacco delivered to eachduct.

When shredded or cut tobacco undergoes handling, the short particles oftobacco have a tendency to become separated from the longer shreds oftobacco. My invention can be advantageously employed for solving thisproblem by feeding shorts through one duct and longs through anotherduct into the cylindrical tube It in a manner similar to that describedfor blending tobacco. By combining the longs and shorts as it isdelivered into the hopper of the cigarette making machine the chance ofthem becoming separated before being deposited onto the paper tape 96 isgreatly diminished.

Since tobacco has a tendency to spill out at certain rod formingstations in some cigarette making machines, a pickup housing IIO may bepositioned over or adjacent to the station where such spilling occurs toreturn such tobacco automatically to the feeding hopper of a cigarettegar en making machine: Similarly a flexible tube 1114." hevinga-isuitabl'e nozzlex rum may be: employed: to enable the operator topicln-upspilledtobacco from dlfierentparts ofithema'chine. The tobaccoso: picked: 'upwills be; returned: via duct: I I25. to.

theiintakefunnel 1:81 which is tangentially connectedtoithetubularzhousing. 10.. It, will. there.- fore be. evidentthat Ihave-provided an improved: device for" feeding 1 tobacco automaticallytot the.

hoppenrof. a cigarette makingmachine which; can.

also; be;..used..fo1f blending-tobacco; for mixing. shorts with; long.shredded tobacco. and; for picking; up. tobaccdwhich may be spilledoutof. thecigarette making-machine.

The invention. above described. may" be varied 1inconstructionzwithinlthe scope of the c1aims;.for the particular deviceselected toillustrate the inventioniisi butxone: of: many possible.embodiments; of the same The invention, therefore;

iSillOtitDibflrIfiSlI-tifibfid to the precisedetails of the chargingitiinto said primary cylindrical: tube with sufiicient velocity tocauseit tocircle. around the. inside. wall of said primary cylindrical tube;an inner tube. positioned; inside of said primary cylindrical-tubeiorremovingair from the center part; of said. tube. and terminating.approximately where said s'lotbegins at a position'spa'ced fromsaidj.funnelj;' and an. exhaust fan. for causing a continuous streamerair to bepulled-through said pipe lineand cylindrical tube to therebypermit. tobacco carried, by said .air stream-to be dis,- charged throughsaidslot acrossthe width of the. hlclipperof. the automatic. cigarettemaking, mac i'n'e.

'2". Altobacco discharge devi'ce'for delivering a continuous stream oftobacco shreds to the hopper of: an automatic cigarette making machinecomprising; a cylindrical tube having a slot formed along the lengththereof. positioned insidehopper of" a cigarettev making machine, aductfor delivering a tobacco laden. airstream tangentially at one end ofsaid tubeyan inner tube extending f'rom one end inside said cylindrical=tubeand terminating approximately where said'slot begins for removing"air received-from said-duct from the center portion of said cylindricaltube, andapparatus for causing airto'no-W' through said duct andcylindrical tube tode'liver a continuous stream of tobacco to saidcylindri'cal tube for dischargeacross the Width of saidhopper'tliroughsaid slot. 7

35 K tobacco; discharge devicefor delivering a continuous stream oftobacco-to the hopper oi arr-automatic cigarette making machine comprising ia. cylindrical tube. having aslot: formed lengtnwisezalong; thebottom thereof; means; for mounting'said tube; within the hopper: ofa-.cigar.=- ettemakingjmachine, a gatevalveassociatednfwith :slot for.removingzwtobacco received. through said; slot and discharging, saidtobacco across the width ofv the-hopper of a. cigarette makineLmachinewhile: maintaining said slot sealed against air entering: saidv slotfrom: the outside atmos' phere, a duct for deliveringastreamloflaircarrying: tobacco to one end-l ot-l saidtubeat: a tangent transverse tothe longitudinal 7 axis-:- of: said tuhe,-.

an inner tube: extending: inside-and? along: the center of. said:cylindrical tubeforremovingain from thecenter' portionzthereoi,ancliapparatus: for causing a continuous -stream of airto-fiowthroughsaid duct and-tubes.

41 A tobacco discharge: devi'ce.-.,ior delivering.- tobacco' tothe-hopper: off an automatic. cigarette making machine comprising, anelongated;.cy--. lindrical shell having a slot extending alongthe.length. thereof, meanssfor. mounting said; shell-1 insidethe hopper ofacigarettemaking machine, an inner shellextending:insidemfcsaidcylindricah shell, a. mounting .ior enabling thedistance said; inner shell extends-inside =of saidcylindrical: sheilato: be varied, .a duct: for delivering. a..stream: of;

air -carrying tobaccoiinside. of: said. cylindrical. shell at atangent.tothe longitudinalzaxiszthereeof to cause the tobacco to whirlina spirab-along; theinsidewalll of saidcylindrical shell; a twistedmember "extending along said slot for. deflecting. some of said tobaccoaway from said slot. andnto; travel around theinside of saidcylindrical: shell: several. times. before passing. out through: some:portion: of: saidslot, and a housing for sealing-0E: saidislotfromtheioutside atmosphere;

5;. A device for discharging. tobacco; con: tinuously intothe. hopper ofa. cigarettenmaking; machineicomprising, an elongated tubelhavihgai,diameter of approximately 8. inches for deliverw ingzacontinuous stream:of tobaccov into the hopper ofza cigarette. making 'machine aninnerctubeprojecting from one end approximately 153/2 inches inside of said.elongatedtube for'removing; air from the center portionoiiv said; tubesaid; inner tube havinga diameter of approximatelydi inches, a ductextending. fromv theendr. of said. elongated. tube along the; lengththereof for. ap:-.- proximately 8 inches, said duct being connectedtosaid elongated tube. at a. tangent. to the. periph-. erythereof,.and'. apparatus .for causing; a stream of air carrying:shredded. tobacco torbe delivered through. said. duct into saidelongated tubzstot. separate. tobacco from: said air stream.1337311311:- trifugal forces acting on the tobacco as. it; Whirledaround the inside. 01 saidelongatedrtuhex due. to said tangentiakconnection.

6; A device for; discharging tobacco. (1,011?

tinuously into thehopper. of. a cigarettemakinge machine, an. elongated.tube extending across they,

hopper of a; cigarette makingmachine,-.said;- tube. having a slottedopening; extendingalong; a por tion of the length of :said tube; for the"dischargeof tobacco. therefrom, a revolving. gated-member. adj oining;said opening for removing; -tobacco.-.:ce.- ceived through said slottedopening while,-.main=- tainingv said. opening sealed off: from the;outside; atmosphere, an inner .tube projecting inside of.

said elongated tube for removing, air; iromithe.

center portion thereof, a. duct tangentially con. nected at; oneend ofsaid elongated tube for; deliveringa continuouslstreamloi tobacco laden:air to the inside-of: saidv elongated. tube,, a source of. supplyiordelivering. tobacco-laden: air torso-id. duct,.; and. apparatus forcausing. a. streamofiair. toflow through saidduct, elongateditube;anddnner tube to cause tobacco to-be separatedtrom: said air stream insaid elongated tube, and! be discharged throughsaid slotted openingandagate member acrossithe width of the. hopper of a; cigarette makingmachine.

7.. Apparatus: for blending shredded cigarette tobacco in the hopper ofa cigarette making ma-- chine comprising, an elongated cylindrical tube,mounted horizontally in said hopper and having a slot extending alongone side thereof a plurality of ducts extending tangentially from oneend of said cylindrical tube for directing streams of air carryingtobacco transversely against the inside wall of said cylindrical tube,sources of tobacco supply for delivering a different kind of tobacco toeach of said ducts, an inner tube extending lengthwise along the centerof said cylindrical tube for a distance beyond the area where said ductsextend tangentially from said cylindrical tube for removing air from thecenter part of said cylindrical tube, and apparatus for sucking atobacco laden air stream from each of said sources of supply throughsaid duets with sufficient velocity to cause said tobacco to beseparated from said air stream by centrifugal force thereby blendingdifferent kinds of tobacco received from said sources of supply as it isdischarged through said slot.

8. In a cigarette making machine, apparatus for delivering tobacco tothe feed hopper of a cigarette making machine comprising, a hollowcylindrical member mounted horizontally in said hopper and having a slotformed along the length thereof for discharging tobacco into anduniformly across the width of the hopper of a cigarette making machine,a plurality of intake ducts tangentially connected to one end of saidcylindrical member for delivering tobacco laden air along the insideperiphery of said cylindrical member to cause the tobacco carried by theair stream to separate therefrom by revolving around the inside of saidcylindrical member, an exhaust tube extending longitudinally inside thecenter of said cylindrical tube for a distance beyond the area wheresaid intake ducts are connected to said cylindrical member, a source ofsupply for delivering short particles or tobacco to one of said intakeducts, a second source of supply for delivering normal size shreds oftobacco to another of said intake ducts, and suction creating apparatusfor causing the tobacco laden air 9. Apparatus for delivering tobacco tothe hopper of a cigarette making machine comprisin a cylindrical hollowtube mounted horizontally inside the hopper of a cigarette makin machineand having a slot formed along the length thereof, a bafiie platepositioned adjacent said slot for causing tobacco to pass out evenlythroughout the length of the slot, a plurality of ducts tangentiallyconnected to one end of said hollow tube for conducting streams of airhaving entrained tobacco into transverse engagement with the inside ofsaid hollow tube to cause said air stream and tobacco to circle aroundthe inside wall of said tube and thereby separate the tobacco from saidair stream by centrifugal force acting on th tobacco, a source oftobacco supply connected to one of said ducts for delivering shreddedtobacco to a stream of air passing therethrou h, a nozzle for picking uptobacco which spills out of the machine in the process of makingcigarettes, a conduit connecting said nozzle with one of said ducts forsucking in any tobacco spilled out of the machine and conveyin it tosaid last mentioned duct for delivery into said hollow tube, andapparatus for removing air from the center part of said tube to permittobacco tube for discharge uniformly along the length of said slot intosaid hopper.

10. In a cigarette makin machine having a feed hopper, apparatus forseparating tobacco from a stream of pneumatically conveyed tobacco anddischarging the same in a continuous stream across the width of saidhopper comprising, an outer tube mounted horizontally in said hopperhaving a slot formed along the length thereof, an inner tube projectingthrough the other end of said outer tube inside and along th center ofsaid outer tube, a duct transversely connected at a tangent to saidouter tube for deliverin a stream of pneumatically conveyed tobacco to apassage between said inner and outer tubes, apparatus for causing a.stream or air to flow through said duct into said passage and outthrough said inner tube to spiral tobacco around the inside of said tubea plurality of times, mechanism for delivering a stream of tobacco tosaid stream of air prior to its entry into said duct, a member forremoving a substantially equal portion of said tobacco out through saidslot each time said tobacco spirals past said slot, measuring apparatusfor determining the amount of tobacco in said hopper, and connectionsbetween said measuring apparatus and said mechanism for starting andstopping the delivery of tobacco to said stream to maintain asubstantially constant quantity of tobacco in said hopper.

11. The method of feeding tobacco in a cigarette making machine whichcomprises conveying tobacco pneumatically in a narrow stream to thehopper of a cigarette making machine,

spiralin said tobacco a plurality of times around the inside of ahorizontally arranged cyclone separating cylinder, removing asubstantially equal portion of said stream each time it spirals aroundthe inside of said cylinder to deposit the same in a wide sheet acrossthe width of the hopper 0f the cigarette making machine, and forwardingsaid sheet of material into contact with the carded members removingtobacco from the hopper of a cigarette making machine.

12. The method of feeding tobacco in a cigarette making machine whichcomprises conveying relatively long shreds of tobacco pneumatically in anarrow stream to the hopper of a cigarette making machine, spirallingsaid narrow stream of tobacco a plurality of times around the inside ofa horizontally arranged cyclone separatin cylinder, mixing tobaccoshreds of relatively short length with the relatively long lengthtobacco shreds prior to spiralling the tobacco around the inside of saidseparating cylinder, and removing a substantially equal portion of saidstream each time it spirals around the inside of said cylinder todeposit the same in a wide sheet across the Width of the hopper of acigarette making machine. 7

13. A tobacco discharge device for delivering tobacco to the hopper ofan automatic cigarette making machine comprising an elongated,cylindrical shell having a slot extending along the, length thereof,means for mounting said shell.

inside the hopper of a cigarette making machine, an inner shellextendinginside of said cylindrical shell for exhausting air from thecentral axis of said cylindrical shell, a duct for deliverin a stream ofair carrying tobacco inside or said cylindrical shell at a tangent tothe longitudinal axis thereof to cause the tobacco to whirl in a spiralalon the length of the inside Wall of said 13 cylindrical shell, atapered member extending along said slot and spaced from the oppositewall of said slot a varying distance to limit the quantity of tobaccothat can pass out of said slot each time said tobacco spirals past saidslot thereby causing said tobacco to spiral around the inside of saidcylindrical shell several times before passing out through some portionof said slot, and a housing for scaling 011 said slot from the outsideatmosphere.

MATTHEW J. SLOVIC.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberNumber 14 Name Date Hohn Nov. 17, 1931 Deming May 24, 1932 SchneiderMar. 27, 1934 Bieth Apr. 10, 1934 Klux Nov. 6, 1934 Craggs Dec. 13, 1938Watson May 5,1942 Randolph Feb. 9, 1943 Arelt Apr. 12, 1949 FOREIGNPATENTS Country Date Great Britain June 11, 1931 Great Britain Jan. 21,1932 Great Britain Mar. 7, 1945 Germany Aug. 15, 1928 Germany Mar. 23,1933 Germany June 17, 1936 Germany July 2, 1938

